The Director of Strategy, Research, and Communications at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Sammy Darko, has dismissed claims that the office is selectively targeting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its investigations into alleged vote buying.
According to him, the OSP’s decision to investigate allegations arising from both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries and the recently held NDC Ayawaso East parliamentary primaries was guided strictly by law and evidence, not partisan considerations.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, February 9, 2026, Mr Darko explained that the OSP’s statement was not intended to single out any political party.
“This statement is not just about what happened at Ayawaso East or the NPP primaries. It is generally that we are reminding Ghanaians that vote buying and vote selling are prohibited by law and that we must refrain from it,” he said.
He clarified that the structure of the statement had been misunderstood by some critics.
“In the two paragraphs, you will understand the basis of what we are doing in both instances. So, I don’t understand how some people were reading the statement, because they said we have only one paragraph for the NPP, and the rest is for the NDC. It doesn’t add up,” Mr Darko stated.
He added that the OSP merely outlined the cases sequentially.
“It is purely that we stated in paragraph one as NPP and paragraph two as NDC. In paragraph three, we talked about what we are investigating in those instances,” he explained.
Mr Darko further disclosed that the statement devoted additional attention to one individual because of an alleged assault on an OSP officer during the conduct of official duties at the election.
“We dedicated a little more to a particular candidate because that candidate had assaulted an OSP officer in the performance of this work during the election,” he said.
The OSP, in a statement issued on Sunday, February 8, 2026, announced that it had commenced investigations into alleged vote buying during the January 31 NPP presidential primaries and the February 7 NDC Ayawaso East parliamentary primary.
During the NDC primary in Ayawaso East, reports emerged that delegates received 32-inch television sets, coolers and boiled eggs from the camp of Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed.
Similarly, allegations surfaced during the NPP presidential primary that supporters of various aspirants distributed cash to delegates before or after voting, a situation that reportedly led to discontent among delegates who claimed they did not receive their share.
Ayawaso East vote-buying scandal an affront to democracy – NPP
